Make Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee for a Light, Clear Brew (2024)

Coffee
Breakfast Drinks
Scandinavian Cooking Basics

Kari Diehl

Freelance food writer who specializes in Scandinavian cuisine and is the author of "The Everything Nordic Cookbook."

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Updated on 02/28/24

Tested by

Renae Wilson

Tested byRenae Wilson

Renae has certifications in both Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education and works as a private chef and caterer, recipe tester and developer, and food writer.Renae has written and developed recipes for Rachael Ray In Season, the Kitchn, Food52, and more.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Total: 20 mins

Servings: 10 servings

Yield: 8 cups

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Swedish egg coffee is a unique way of brewing coffee with an egg.According to legend, this recipe originated en route fromSweden to America in the late 1800s. It has become along tradition for Lutheran church gatherings of Scandinavian-Americans in the Midwest and was dubbed "church basem*nt coffee" for the large quantity it usually makes. To make Swedish egg coffee, a raw egg is added to the coffee grounds before brewing the coffee, creating a potting soil-like mixture. Some diehard egg coffee lovers use the crushed eggshell as well, but that's optional.

Adding the egg helps clarify the coffee, allowing the grounds to separate from the water easily. The egg white extracts the bitterness from the grounds and enhances the caffeine. The result is a light, clear brew with absolutely no bitterness or acidity and a velvety texture that's easy to drink. You'll notice that after a few minutes of simmering, the grounds will clump together and float to the top, which is why the coffee has such a mild taste. Adding the cold water toward the end creates a French press effect, causing the mass of grounds to sink to the bottom of the pot.To make Swedish egg coffee, you can use either an enamel coffee pot or a saucepan.

Coffee is always a great way to start off the day—go ahead and enjoy your egg coffee with the perfect accompaniment—a cinnamon roll or bagel.

Make Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee for a Light, Clear Brew (2)

What You'll Need to Make This Swedish Egg Coffee Recipe

A Great Coffee Grinder

A Small Saucepan

A Fine Mesh Strainer or Sieve

"Never heard of this technique and I won’t be going back! Smooth coffee with no bitterness." —Renae Wilson

Ingredients

9 1/4 cups water,divided
3/4 cup freshly ground coffee (medium to coarse grind)
1 large egg (including the shell, if you like)
1 cup cold water

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Bring 9 cups of the water to a rapid boil in a saucepan or enamel coffee pot.
While waiting for the water to boil, stir together the ground coffee, remaining 1/4 cup water, and the egg in a small bowl or measuring cup. (You can omit the eggshell and use only the egg yolk and white if you prefer.)
Once the water is boiling, carefully pour in the egg and coffee mixture. Turn down the heat and simmerfor 3 minutes, being watchful that it doesn't boil over.
The coffee grounds will gradually bind together into a single mass that floats to the top of the pot. Once this happens, immediately remove the pot from heat.
Pour in the 1 cup of cold water and let the coffee sitfor 10 minutes. This allows the coffee grounds to settle to the bottom of the pot.
Once the grounds have sunk to the bottom, pour the coffee through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer into cups and serve.

Raw Egg Warning

Consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs poses a risk of food-borne illness.

Tips

The longer you let the coffee simmer, the stronger the flavor grows without becoming bitter.
The coffee ground mixture can easily boil over so make sure to watch the pot and lower the heat when necessary.
It is important that you add cold water as the cooler temperature will cause the coffee grounds to sink to the bottom of the pot.
If you are concerned about including an egg, keep in mind that the boiling water will kill any bacteria that may be present, making the coffee safe to drink.

Bulletproof Coffee Recipe

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
7	Calories
0g	Fat
0g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories	7
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	1%
Cholesterol 19mg	6%
Sodium 17mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 10mg	1%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 16mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

Coffee
egg coffee
breakfast
scandinavian

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FAQs

Make Traditional Swedish Egg Coffee for a Light, Clear Brew? ›

What Is Swedish Coffee? Traditional Swedish egg coffee is made by cracking an entire egg, including the shell, into a cup, mixing the egg with ground coffee, and then letting the mixture simmer on the stove. The idea is for the egg to remove impurities from the coffee, resulting in a smoother cup of coffee.

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What is the recipe to make egg coffee nowadays? ›

Directions

Brew a small cup of Vietnamese coffee. ...
Crack an egg and separate the yolk from the whites. ...
Put the yolk and the sweetened condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until you end up with a frothy, fluffy mixture like the one above.
Add a tablespoon of the brewed coffee and whisk it in.

More items...

Sep 12, 2023

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How to make eggshell coffee? ›

directions

Use a graniteware (enamel) coffee pot.
Wash egg; break it into a small bowl, reserving shell, and beat slightly. Add 1/2 cup cold water, the 1 cup ground coffee and the reserved egg shell, crushed. Mix thoroughly. Turn into coffee pot; pour on boiling water, and stir.

How is Swedish coffee made? ›

Learn More ›

What happens when you mix egg and coffee? ›

Adding the egg helps clarify the coffee, allowing the grounds to separate from the water easily. The egg white extracts the bitterness from the grounds and enhances the caffeine. The result is a light, clear brew with absolutely no bitterness or acidity and a velvety texture that's easy to drink.

Learn More ›

Is egg coffee better hot or cold? ›

Egg coffee can be served hot or cold, offering customers different experiences. Hot egg coffee is served with a small bowl of hot water to retain its heat, while cold egg coffee is served in a larger cup compared to the hot one. The best way to sip a cup of egg coffee is when it is still warm.

Keep Reading ›

Are you supposed to mix egg coffee? ›

Some people like to stir the egg cream and coffee together so that the sweetness flows through each drop of coffee, which is suitable for those who cannot drink strong coffee. Egg coffee seems to have become the unofficial symbol of Hanoi coffee.

Get More Info Here ›

How to make coffee clear? ›

Heat milk in a saucepan over low heat. Once milk begins to froth, turn off heat and add coffee and citric acid. Let cool to room temperature. Pour the mixture through a nut ,ilk bag until it runs clear.

What is the origin of Swedish egg coffee? ›

Rasmussen said when Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwest, they brought the recipe for Swedish egg coffee with them. It was a tradition to make a big batch for Lutheran church gatherings. That's why it became known as “church basem*nt coffee.” So it's not actually a drink you can find in Sweden.

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Why is Swedish coffee so strong? ›

Swedish coffee is understood to be a drip made with generous amount of coffee in the filter, made from Arabica beans which has been given a hard, almost harsh roasting. Real manly men drink kaffegök which is black coffee with enough aquavit poured in until you can see the bottom.

Keep Reading ›

Why is egg coffee so good? ›

Egg coffee is made of three types of coffee: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. This combination results in a delicious drink that is rich, aromatic, and full of flavor. Other essential ingredients to make egg coffee are egg yolks, sugar, and milk.

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Can you put a whole egg in coffee? ›

To make it, all you need to do is crack an entire egg (yolk, white, and shell) into your coffee grounds, creating a potting soil–like texture, before adding it to boiling water, simmering the mixture, and pouring off your coffee.

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What is egg coffee made of? ›

The drink is made by beating egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk, then extracting the coffee into the cup, followed by a similar amount of egg cream, or egg yolks which are heated and beaten, or whisked. The drink is served in cafes throughout Vietnam, originating in Hanoi.

Get More Info Here ›

What do egg and coffee do to your hair? ›

- Coffee and egg yolk mask

It has also been known to regulate oily scalps and help restore brittle and dull hair. How to make: For a nourishing hair mask, mix one tbsp of coffee powder with one egg yolk and make into a paste. Apply the paste all over your scalp and hair, massage it in for five minutes.

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